Cleaning behind your fridge once every three months is a good goal to stick to. This helps keep messes to a minimum and ensures it runs efficiently. Seasonal cleaning will also remove dropped food and food residue that can act as pest attractants, so keeping this area clean can help keep your household healthier, too.

You should declutter first, then clean, especially when sorting through an entire estate. Decluttering reduces the number of items to clean and clears space to make cleaning easier. Once all items, such as large furniture, are relocated, you'll be able to clean efficiently. You can also hire a move-out cleaner to do a professional deep clean before you sell the home.

Cleaning floors is a relatively easy DIY job, but paying for a professional cleaning service is worthwhile if you don’t have the time to dedicate to cleaning or if you have particularly dirty floors, deep-set stains, or wooden floors that you might damage during the cleaning process. A professional house cleaner will have the tools and experience necessary to remove dirt, pet hair, debris, and even stains and discoloration from your floors without damaging them. The service is also relatively affordable, making it a great investment if you don’t have the time or tools to do it yourself.

The average house cleaner cost is around $180, which should cover about four hours of work. However, each project is different and costs can range from $100 to $1,000, depending on the house size and the cleaning needed. Other cost factors can include your location and what level of cleaning you want. Standard or basic cleaning may include vacuuming, dusting, and disinfecting the kitchen and bathrooms. Deep cleaning costs about twice as much and often includes cleaning behind and underneath furniture, washing windows, and polishing hard-to-clean surfaces. Emergency cleaning, extreme cleaning, and holidays also impact pricing. Move-in and move-out cleaning typically cost more, too, because of the extensive, whole-house cleaning involved.